The NOT-So-Average Life of Samuel Black
by SilentSongAtDawn
Summary: (Rewrite of A Witch In The Woods)Despite what his classmates think, Samuel Black is quite the opposite of Average, Normal, Median, Standard, or whatever other word that means the same thing. However, now that there has been some peace for a while, things are about to get interesting once again, which could bring Samuel's 'Strange' life to light. Pairings:Future SoMa, Others to come
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** _***Pulls on baseball hat, cracks knuckles, & turns on Soul Eater OST***_

**Alright. Let's do this! For those of you who don't know me, I'm SilentSongAtDawn, formerly KHatake007. Call me Dawn. I used to be a very laid back, slow to update Author, but no more. It drove me crazy how long it took me to update, so expect regular updates from now on.**

**For those of you who haven't read **A Witch In The Woods: An Ancient Legend Come To Life?**, this is a rewrite of that story. I hope you enjoy it!**

**IMPORTANT!**

**This is based off of the Soul Eater Anime, so **_***Spoiler Alert!***_ **Asura is not Lord Death's son in this story. **_***Spoiler Over* **_**This also takes place about two years post Kishin, but the ages of canon characters are the same. Because I can do that because it's my story. The ages are as follows, however.**

**Maka: 14**

**Soul: 14**

**BlackStar: 14**

**Tsubaki: 18**

**Liz: 17**

**Patty: 13**

**Crona: 14**

**Kid: He's a reaper, so who the heck knows. He looks like he's 15 though.**

_**There will be no Lemons in this story! **_

**I don't own Soul Eater.**

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><p>Death City, Arizona, is home to one of the most unique schools in the world, The Death Weapon Meister Academy. The Academy, or DWMA, is anything but normal. Run by the Grimm Reaper, Lord Death himself, it serves as a safe haven where young Weapons and Meisters can search for their chosen partners and train to better themselves. By joining hands, they would become the ultimate force for protecting all that is good from monsters they all call Kishin.<p>

Ever since the defeat of the Kishin, Asura, the student body had grown and new legends had been born. Names like Soul Eater, Maka, BlackStar, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, and Death The Kid were spoken with reverence among the new students, who stare in awe at these legendary heroes of the DWMA. They all aspired to be just like them. But, judging by their lack of memorable features and average skill sets, it was obvious that these poor fans were no more than minor characters; stuck in the Normally Overcome Target, or NOT class.

Ironically enough, that is where our story begins.

Inside the NOT classroom on a typical Friday, pencils hurriedly scratched against paper with only five minutes to the final bell. All the students were desperately trying to finish the worksheet their undead teacher assigned them, glancing between their papers and the skull shaped clock on the wall repeatedly. Every one of them were anxiously awaiting the last bell which indicated the start of the weekend.

All, that is, except one.

In the back row, on the far right side, a student obliviously slept.

His head was lying on the desk since his worksheet, which was currently covered mostly by his shaggy black hair, had been completed almost an hour before. It was an unusually high level assignment for the NOT class, but this particular student had already completed the paper twice before. He didn't even have to even think about the answers, he already had them completely memorized. After all, it was child's-play for someone who had repeated the class for two straight years.

It wasn't his intention to fall asleep, but he had run out of things to do. Before sleep had claimed him, he had covered all but the bottom margin of his paper with an intricate and astonishingly life-like replication of a tiger stalking through a bamboo forest. It seemed almost three-dimensional, the shadows and shading making it look as if the tiger was about to leap off the page. There wasn't much to do after that, so his mind had decided to just shut down.

A student three seats away (The ones between them were empty.) glanced over, saw the doodles, and rolled his eyes at the sleeping teen. None of the students in the NOT class really liked the black haired boy. It was mostly because he was top of the class, yet all he seemed to do was doodle and sleep. Not that said boy cared what they thought.

Sid glanced at his watch, one minute to the bell. If he was the kind of man he used to be, he would have felt bad for Professor Stein. There was no doubt the mad scientist had his hands full trying to keep BlackStar under control right now. But that was who he was in the past. Now he was just glad he didn't have to deal with the little blue haired maniac.

The blue skinned teacher clapped his hands together, immediately drawing in the attention of the whole class.

"One minute to the bell," he said quite unnecessarily, everyone knew what time it was. "And once I have everyone's attention…"

The students snickered. This happened every day. Sid didn't even have to look to know that the student in the far back right, (his left, but whatever.) was once again asleep. Someone in the front row tossed a pencil back at the sleeping student, and smirked when the pencil found its target, the boy's head.

The mop of shaggy black hair shot up, accompanied by a pair of unnervingly bright green eyes, which almost seemed to glow behind his hair, giving him a haunting, otherworldly appearance. This effect, however, was ruined by the worksheet stuck to his cheek.

Laughter echoed all around.

Sid cleared his throat and the noise died down as the focus of the class shifted back to him.

"Now, when the bell rings, turn in your worksheets, finished or not, on my desk. Then you can leave, but don't forget to practice the new maneuver we went over today with your partner over the weekend. There WILL be a test on Monday." He said over the groans of the class.

One of the students, the one that threw the pencil, raised his hand and cockily asked. "Sid? What if you don't have a partner?"

Forget muffled chuckles, the entire class burst into peals of laughter... except for the green eyed boy in the back. He simply peeled the worksheet off his face, brushed eraser shavings off his slightly wrinkled white short sleeve dress shirt which fell onto the legs of his dark blue jeans, and attempted to straighten his perpetually crooked black tie.

Sid waited till the class fell silent to answer the smart-aleck kid. "I was unaware you and Phoebe were no longer partners, Carter. When you end a partnership, you're supposed to tell the teacher."

The kid, now known as Carter, gave the zombie an odd look. "What are you talking about? We're still partners!" he said, putting an arm around the girl on his right.

"Then why do you need to know?" Sid asked.

"I-uh…" Carter stuttered.

"Stupid questions waste my time and I don't tolerate them. That's the kind of man I am," the zombie said.

At that moment, the bell rang, and the students surged forward, rushing to turn in their papers and get out the door. It took all of two minutes for them to escape, leaving Sid with a hazardous mound of papers all over his desk. Said zombie sighed and began to organize the worksheets.

The only one who hadn't run out the door like his life depended on it was the boy in the back. He too sighed tiredly and stood up slowly, running his hand through his already messy hair. He winced as he touched the spot where the pencil made contact with his cranium.

Gathering his things which consisted of a binder, workbook, and a few spare pencils; the teen descended down the steps toward Sid's desk, trying to rub the soreness from his head where the projectile made contact.

"Did you really have to let him hit me?" He asked as he placed his paper atop the now neat stack on his teacher's desk.

"You're the one who let him hit you." Sid retorted. "You could have blocked it."

The boy waved a hand dismissively.

"Could have, should have, didn't. Would have been too much of a hassle." He said as he put his things into his black leather backpack, pulling out a pair of sleek black rollerblades simultaneously. After removing his black converse and putting them in his bag with his school items, he strapped on the skates before standing up and saluting his teacher.

"See you Monday Sid." The teen said as he rolled out the door, carefully avoiding the bump on the floor that often tripped up patchwork professors on wheely chairs. Sid waved him off while taking a moment to glance at the paper the black haired boy had turned in. Without actually going through the answers, he sighed before marking a 100 on the paper at the bottom margin next to the boy's name, written in a messy scrawl.

_Samuel Black_

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><p>Samuel Black rolled down the hallway, picking up speed as he went, weaving around lagging students with ease. Hands in his pockets, he rolled by the EAT classroom, Crescent Moon. He had enough speed to blow the ashy-blonde pigtails of Maka Albarn (who had stayed after a bit to talk to the professor about their latest assignment) in her face.<p>

Maka's face contorted into one of confusion as she looked down the hall after Samuel's retreating form.

"Who in the world…?" she said to no one in particular. Soul followed her gaze and just shrugged as Stein rolled to the door on his chair.

"Ah, that would be Samuel Black. Been stuck in the NOT class for two years now, going on three. No one special." The professor said as he rolled back into his classroom.

"Two years?! He's that bad of a student?" Maka asked aghast as she followed Stein back into his classroom. Soul sighed. This would take a while.

"Actually, he's top of the class despite his lack of self motivation, and has been for a while. The only reason he hasn't moved up to EAT class is because he doesn't have a partner. Which I don't find surprising, given his weapon form." The Patchwork Professor said as he adjusted the screw in his head.

"What do you mean?" Maka questioned.

"It's not impossible, but it is very difficult to take missions when the weapon doesn't have a meister. And while the NOT curriculum is made to cater to both partnerships and solo students, the EAT curriculum is not. A solo weapon can enter the EAT class, but only after passing the physical and written tests that everyone else has to take, AND claiming 20 Kishin souls by themselves. So, you can see why someone with as little motivation as Samuel would have failed to move up."

"If it's so difficult to move up by himself, why doesn't he just find a partner?" Soul asked. Stein sighed.

"He's tried, but I think he's given up on ever finding a partner by now. His weapon form is a major turn off for any meister he might have paired with." He answered as he rolled to the chalkboard.

"His weapon form is a very rare type of sword, called a Garian sword. Some have three blades, but he only has one." He said as he drew the sword on the chalkboard. It looked like any other sword, the hilt bearing qualities of both an English short sword and a Japanese katana. The cross guard was too large for an average katana, but the grip was too long for the Hand-and-a-half length of the English, and the pommel was non-existent.

"The sword itself is not all one piece, however. There is a wire running through the blade, allowing the sword to break into multiple pieces, to be used as a whip, or shot at an opponent." He then drew the lines on the blade where it would come apart, and the blade in its extended form.

Soul and Maka just stared at the board for a moment before Soul spoke. "You should never be an art teacher, Professor."

Maka smacked him in the back of the head. "It's just an example, idiot."

She then turned her attention back to the professor. "But I can see why nobody would want to partner with him though. A blade like that would be hard to wield."

"Not to mention that as far as anyone knows, he's the only weapon like that." Stein said as he erased the poorly drawn sword. "Even Lord Death hasn't seen a weapon like him before, so even if someone wanted to partner with him, there would be no one to teach them how to wield him. It's a pity too. Otherwise, he'd be a powerful weapon."

Samuel rolled through the doors of the great school and down the thin incline next to the stairs. He let gravity do the work and pull him down, speeding up faster and faster until he had reached the front of the large mass of bodies exiting the school. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw someone with blue hair gape openly at him and then start yelling about him trying to steal his spotlight, but before he could make sense of it, he had swerved onto the sidewalk.

Samuel fished something out of his pocket and began flipping through his DeathPod, looking for a good song, before settling on one and slipping the device into his pocket as the music blared into his ears through his black Shinigami ear buds. (Working copy of those worn by Justin Law! Limited edition, buy now for only 19.99, plus shipping and handling, and 15% of the profits go to the DWMA!)

The sounds of the city were drowned out by the song he had chosen, some JPop song called Bakuso Yume Uta. The Japanese lyrics filled his head as he followed the streets home, subconsciously skating in time to the beat. Despite being in a different language, he had spent some time in Japan, and knew enough to translate.

_A glint in my glaring eyes flares up like the noise of breaking the harmony_

_They snuck in, those hearts unchanged from the days we dreamed in the garage_

_That's right, there will never be a tomorrow that's like today; I'm roaring with sensitivity_

_My singing heart plays this beat, certain proof that I'm alive_

_What I gain, I lose; what I gain, I lose_

_Even on the nights I cried, alone, among these changing times_

_Everything is right here, everything; I should still_

_Be able to go on by myself_

_A pure light comes through the dark night_

_My life is crying that these times are eternal_

_Look, you're always reflected in the depths of my heart_

_Just keep embracing the truth you should protect_

_There's no reason; my trembling soul, ah_

_It's generally a lie when I say I have no regrets; I spit on the roadway_

_Accept it! I just need to be that much stronger and waste my effort once more_

_Yeah, when I realize that I'm not clever enough to fool myself as I am_

_Right now I think, feel; and I certainly wouldn't if there were an answer_

_Those I meet, I part with; those I meet, I connect with_

_The brilliance of the youth I'm cuddled up with, even on guileless days_

_Everything is right here; everything is beautiful_

_But I'm still fighting_

_Even if we're swallowed by the raging ways of every repeating day_

_We'll still be here, without waking up from the dream_

_The voices of my friends always reach me_

_I have no choice but to keep going in the city wind,_

_As if shaking off loneliness; the way of life I believed in, ah_

_While wandering,_

_(I gain) the unchanging courage to keep changing things_

_And the strength to stay here without losing or changing anything_

_A pure light comes through the dark night_

_My life is crying that these times are eternal_

_Look, you're always reflected in the depths of my heart_

_Just embrace the truth you should protect and go!_

_Even if we're swallowed by the raging ways of every repeating day_

_We'll still be here, without waking up from the dream_

_The voices of my friends always reach me_

_I have no choice but to keep going in the city wind,_

_As if shaking off loneliness; the way of life I believed in, ah_

_There's no reason; my trembling soul, ah_

The city became more rural, tall buildings replaced by increasingly large expanses of desert sand and sagebrush. Eventually, he rolled up to the little two bedroom house on about 3 acres of dry Nevada soil. The outside was fairly standard, red brick with a white porch that extended along the length of the house. The most distinguishing features were the yard, however, not the home.

Despite the heat and lack of water in the soil, it was a vibrant green. On the right of the house was a small, but well tended and thriving garden, on the left, a giant apple tree.

Samuel took off his skates and dropped them off at the door along with his bag, and pulled on the waiting pair of work boots. Crossing over to the aforementioned tree, he plucked a ripe Red Delicious and took a bite, enjoying the warm, sweet taste of the fruit as he opened the gate to the 5 foot fence behind the house.

'_I wonder if Lord Death likes apples…'_ The dark haired teen thought to himself, closing the gate. He grinned as he felt something push against his back, and turned to smirk at the being who had pushed him. "Impatient today, aren't we Phillip?"

The now-named Phillip nickered and nudged Samuel again. A Large Chestnut Mustang, he towered over the weapon. But despite the fearsome appearance, he was quite the gentle giant. He was a rescue, as the scars all over his legs, neck, and flanks clearly told.

The poor horse had belonged to an abusive owner who whipped him whenever he was too slow to respond. The man was lucky. Most horses would have turned mean and could have seriously injured him, but not Phillip. He just took it until he was forcibly removed from the man's custody.

Said horse nosed Samuel's half eaten apple, asking for permission to take it. Samuel laughed and let him take it, rubbing his nose as he ate. "Come on you," he said as he walked deeper into the yard, where more horses awaited.

Every horse was a rescue, each one had a story. Some were blind, some missing an ear, others still showing ribs, and they were all scared deeper than any knife could reach. Thinking of the people who abused these poor creatures made Samuel mad. Raving mad. So mad, he wanted to tear into each and every one of the terrible owners. Having a responsibility like taking care of another life, and leaving that life out in the cold and rain to starve and die…

It made him see red.

But then, the horses around him would nudge him back to reality, calm his bloodthirsty heart. They were like a family to him. They kept him grounded, and no matter how bad the damage, external or internal, they slowly healed under his touch.

As he arrived with Philip in tow, the other horses looked up at him from wherever they were, and hobbled, walked, and trotted over to him. They were sniffing all over him, licking his hair, and searching his pockets for treats. Samuel laughed out loud, all his barriers that he had up at school tumbling down. He smiled like no one at school ever dreamed he could.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed.

"Let me through, or I won't be able to get you guys fed!" He said, pushing through the herd. He managed to get through to the shed where he kept the feed,(He had to keep it padlocked or the more clever ones would find a way to get in, and then eat until they were bloated, thus throwing their intelligence into question.) and hefted the large bag, filling the feeders around the three acre pen, then filling the feeders in the stalls where the more sickly and injured animals were.

Once the majority of the herd was occupied by the arrival of the food, he grabbed the hose from the side of the house and repeated the process, filling water buckets and tubs instead of feeders. The entire process took almost an hour, and was backbreaking work, (Lifting fifty pound bags of feed wasn't easy, unless you were BlackStar.) but he enjoyed it. The physical labor left him more physically fit than most weapons, which he needed to be since he didn't have a meister.

It left him too tired to think too much about bothersome things like his place in the universe and all that. He was quite obviously a side character in the big picture, so things like that didn't matter too much to him.

As he wound up the hose, he felt a large velvety nose rest on his shoulder. He smiled. "Hey there Niato. Let me guess, you're looking for treats again?" he chuckled.

"_By your human standards, carrots and apples aren't considered treats. So, no. I am not looking for treats."_ She said in his mind. "_Though I wouldn't turn up my nose at a sugar cube or mint either."_

Samuel chuckled at the mare. "Alright, alright. I need someone to taste the carrots from the garden anyway. I lost the seed packet that said when they would be ready."

"_I know exactly where it is, it's in that pit of despair you call a bedroom. Honestly, I've seen colts with cleaner stalls!"_ Niato chided.

"You're probably right." The weapon said as he turned to face her. The mare was almost as large as Phillip, who must have had some Clydesdale in him somewhere, but she was not as bulkily proportioned. She was as black as Death's cloak, but her coat was flecked with gray, matching her mane and tail, which were also streaked through with the faded black color.

She was the only horse that wasn't a rescue.

She was… Different.

Samuel scratched her behind the ear before he climbed over the fence and dropped down to the ground below, landing next to the garden. Carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, peas, cucumbers, strawberries, squash, and medicinal and common herbs too numerous to mention covered the garden in neat rows. He made his way over to the carrots, careful to avoid the stinging nettle. (He had been reminded of why it was called STINGING nettle on more occasions than he cared to recall.)

After selecting a few and brushing the majority of the dirt off, he turned back to the Large Black equine head sticking in between the logs that made up the fence.

Niato looked at him expectantly, her gaze darting between the teen and the carrots he carried. He laughed and offered one to her.

She gingerly plucked the carrot from his outstretched open palm and crunched on it for a moment, her expression the horsey-version of thoughtful.

"Well?" he asked with mock impatience. He knew what she was planning.

"_Hmmm… I'm not sure. I think I need another one to be able to tell." _The weapon laughed at her ridiculous ploy.

"Alright, but just one more. You can't eat too many, or you'll put on weight again." He said as he held out the other carrot.

"_I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."_ The mare thought as she munched on the second treat. "_Besides, you are fifteen-"_

"Seventeen." He corrected.

"_Seventeen, and I am… much older. I think I would know what was best for me."_

"Knowing and acting on that knowledge are two different things." He said as he climbed back over the fence. "Need I remind you of THAT incident?"

"_Ah… No, you don't."_ Even in her mind's voice, he could hear the embarrassment.

"That's what I thought." The teen said as he dropped to the dusty ground.

"Alright," He said as he brushed the dust off his jeans. It was then he realized that his school shirt was hopelessly dirty, and discount laundry day at the Laundromat wasn't till Tuesday. He shrugged, deciding that he could make a run into city sometime during the weekend. "I'm heading inside. Keep Phillip away from the apple tree okay?"

"_I'll keep an eye on him."_ She promised.

Samuel made his way back to the house, rubbing noses and scratching ears as he went. The back door to the house let out directly inside the fence, so the only thing he had to climb was the stairs to the sliding glass door.

Once inside, he walked about twenty steps to the loveseat, picked up the remote, and pointed it at the TV sitting above the fireplace on the same wall as the door, turning on the TV to the classical music channel. Satisfied with the background noise, he headed into the kitchen to make something to eat, eventually deciding on being lazy and making some ramen. Not what he usually had, but he honestly didn't feel like making anything else.

While the noodles were cooking, he headed into his room to change. Opening the door, he was forced to agree with Niato. He couldn't even tell what color the floor was, for all the junk on the floor. Heck, even his desk, dresser, bookshelf and bed were covered! Paints, clothes, notebooks, old tests, books that he needed to take back downstairs to the library, the list went on and on. That one kid, Death's son, whatever his name was, would probably have a heart attack if he saw the mess.

Digging through the mess, he found a clean t-shirt and jeans, put them on, and went back into the living room, grabbing some paints and brushes off his desk on the way.

He dropped the paints on the couch as he crossed into the kitchen, grabbing the noodles from the microwave and a pair of chopsticks from a drawer, and then crossed back into the living room, proceeding to stare at the wall that separated his bedroom from the room he was currently in. After tilting his head back and forth for a while, whilst eating his noodles, he finally seemed to decide on something. Setting the noodles down, he picked up a pencil from the couch where he dumped the other art stuff. (AN: He has a loveseat facing the TV, and a couch against the wall he was just staring at.)

After pushing the couch away from the wall, he broke the rule that has been drilled into our heads since we could hold a drawing utensil; he drew on the wall.

After a few minutes, the picture became recognizable as the DWMA, but with a bit of a twist. The sun was on the right, the moon on the left. Even though it was just in pencil, it was evident that he planned to feature both night and day in the picture.

Once he was satisfied, he began painting the building. He had finished the main coat and was about to move on to more detailed work when he caught sight of the time on the TV. It was getting late, time to go to bed. He for one tried to maintain a semi-normal sleep schedule, even during the summer.

Leaving the paints where they were, but turning off the TV, he trudged off to bed. He flopped onto the mattress, making sure all 6 alarms on his DeathPod were set. (Yes, he's one of those people. So am I.) After his mind settled down, he finally drifted off to sleep.

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><p><em>And that was an average day in the average life of the apparently average weapon, Samuel Michael Black. And it would have continued on like this, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, until the day he died, had he not woken a few hours later to a soft chime like sound and a green glow emanating from a seemingly average mirror hanging by his bedside…<em>

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><p><strong>AN: I know! I know! Selena's a Guy! Don't kill me! I swear to you it works out better this way! I had a long discussion with my mom about my story, (More like me thinking out loud and my mom just listening.) and it suddenly clicked! It works out really well in the long run so please don't kill me! Also, it's more of a challenge for me to try to write for a guy, so that's an Author skill bonus.<strong>

**Internet cookies to anyone who recognizes the song he was listening to, and/or gets the other references I made later on.**

**ALSO! By reviewing, a horse of your choice of name, breed, and color will be added to the story! Limit one per user; Up to 15 spots are available! No special powers, but personality quirks are welcome! To submit a horse, see the outline on my profile, fill it out, and PM it to me!**

**Ja Ne!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** **Hey guys. I'm back! I'm actually proud of myself for getting another chapter out so quickly. Big Shout Out to KiraLoveless and Glitter Spires for reviewing, and A huge thank you to KiraLoveless for Beta Reading this story! Also, an old friend heard about the re-write and wanted to say hi.**

**Bri:** ***bashes through door***

***rips off my hoodie***

***sinks to my knees and yells to the sky***

**IT'S THE CIIIIIIIRCLE OF LIIIIIFE AND RUUUULES US ALLLLLLLL**

***looks** **around* Hello. Zuko here. I've come to say hi to all the people who read this stuff. I'm so proud of this girl, isn't she great? Okee well toodaloo, I'll return sometime later. Byeee! Enjoy the story!**

**Dawn:** ***Repeated FaceKeyboard* Yes, she's back for those of you who remember her. **

**Anyway, yes! On to the story!**

**Bri: *****pouts* Don't you facekeyboard me.**

**Dawn:** **Shush. The story's starting. You can complain after the chapter.**

**I don't own Soul Eater, but I do own my ideas and OC's.**

"Speech"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in Mind"_

**WARNING: VIOLENCE/GORE**

_And that was an average day in the average life of the apparently average weapon, Samuel Michael Black. And it would have continued on like this, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, until the day he died, had he not woken a few hours later to a soft chime like sound and a green glow emanating from a seemingly average mirror hanging by his bedside…_

_**Minutes Prior…**_

"There it goes! It's getting away again!"

"I know! I know! I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Well you're not going fast enough!"

"When you're the one chasing after it, then you can complain about speed, Soul!"

"… Point taken."

Both members of the Meister-Weapon pair of Soul Eater Evans and Maka Albarn were a bit cranky and on edge. They had been chasing after the Kishin, Yang Liu, for what seemed like hours. Maka's stamina was slipping, and Soul's complaints weren't helping, hence _her_ grumpiness.

Soul was upset because BlackStar had gotten a new video game, and the two of them had intended on staying up all night playing it, when he and Maka were asked to dispose of their current quarry.

They were BOTH extremely irritated because their target never stayed still long enough for them to finish it off!

'_It's almost as if it's leading us somewhere…'_ Maka thought. "Soul..."

"Yeah. I know." He had noticed too. "What do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know. It could be a trap, or just a coincidence." The ash-blonde meister thought. "I'm not sure following it would be wise, but that would mean we'll let it get away."

"Dang, this is frustrating. I say we just kill the thing and be done with it." Soul said. He, unlike his meister, lacked the patience to think and try to figure out what was going on. But for once, it seemed Maka felt the same way.

"Right. We agreed to this mission, and we're going to follow it through to the end." She agreed. They continued their pursuit of the shovel-wielding Kishin without further comment until they began to realize where they were being lead.

Ahead of them loomed the ominous, and supposedly haunted forest that grew near the DWMA. One of the main reasons that there were so many rumors surrounding the place was the fact that it was a thriving Deciduous Forest, in the middle of Nevada. Another was that of the pairs that entered the forest, few returned, and none with their sanity intact. Not even BlackStar had gone in there.

Yang Liu turned back to them and cackled evilly before disappearing into the forest. Maka skidded to a halt and stared up at the tall, menacing trees. Soul's reflection appeared on the scythe's blade, his eyes widening.

"Maka," he whispered urgently. "No one comes out of that forest without losing their mind. I'm sure Lord Death will understand, we can just try again later."

Maka's grip on his handle tightened. "No. I'm not giving up. I'm not letting that Kishin get the better of me!"

Despite the pleas of her weapon, she charged into the forest. Had she looked back, Maka would've noticed the trees creepily close together behind her, eliminating her exit. But she didn't, and that made all the difference.

The green glow of the mirror pulsed, the noise growing louder until it woke the sleeping teen. Samuel Black sat up, rubbed his eyes tiredly, and stared at the mirror; not really registering what was going on.

Samuel blearily stared at his wall as his mind slowly started to wake up. Seconds later, his eyes shot open and he flew to the mirror, mumbling under his breath as he went.

"Vultus Vitrum, Vultus Vitrum!" he said worriedly. The mirror seemed to comply, the reflected image changing from his own to one showing the Meister-Weapon pair of Soul and Maka racing through the forest after Yang Liu. His brow furrowed, as he dragged a finger across the mirror, the image racing ahead of the pair in the direction they were being lead. It appeared empty, at least until Samuel whispered, "Ostende Speculum".

The image went dark for a moment, but then lit up a bit at a time, different objects with different calibers glowed against the surface. The grass was the faintest, and the rocks had no light at all. The tiny souls of the insects and small animals were like little stars, and the trees glowed strangely bright.

But that wasn't what caught his attention.

It was the giant-sized red Kishin souls lying hidden in wait that drew his focus.

"Bombax eam," he cursed. He waved a hand over the mirror and the image disappeared. Staring at his reflection, he closed his eyes in concentration and whispered more strange words under his breath.

"Mutaverit aspectum," he chanted, and a green, mist-like glow swirled around him, traveling from his feet to his head, "Exaudi Domine animam meam."

When the mist faded, a miraculous transformation had taken place. Samuel's shaggy black hair had grown till it hit the small of his back, and was straight and glossy, pulled back by a white ribbon serving as a headband. His green eyes had turned icy blue, but retained their shape. His face and body had become shorter and more feminine, his pajamas turned into a floor length short sleeve black dress with a white sash. He/she smirked, until his/her eyes flickered back to green.

Waving it off he/she grabbed a black cloak and a tan over the shoulder bag from his/her closet and strapped on first the bag, then pulled the cloak on, flipping up the hood.

The teen opened the door to the backyard, the noise waking some of the horses, one of which was the black and silver mare Niato. Said mare took in Samuel's appearance and immediately understood.

"_The forest?"_

Samuel nodded.

It was at this moment that a miraculous change took place. The air surrounding Niato's shoulder blades seemed to shimmer as a pair of giant black feathered wings appeared, sprouting from her shoulder blades. She lifted her wings up and down once or twice before shaking her head and pawing the ground. "_Well? What are we waiting for?"_

Samuel said nothing, simply climbing astride the great Kaze Raida, (as her race was called.) and holding tightly to her inky black mane.

Niato gave one large downward thrust of her wings and they shot into the sky, rising to meet the moon as they rapidly climbed higher and higher, heading for the forest.

"Maka! On your left!"

"Got It!" Maka shouted as she swung Soul's blade to the left, the blade passing through the giant with little resistance, but more than a normal Kishin.

Along with their unusual size which averaged about fifteen feet, these giant's rough, gray hides (Which, unfortunately for the meister weapon pair were in most cases covered only by a loincloth) were very thick, making them difficult to fight.

After they had finally caught and killed Yang Liu, they only had a moment to celebrate their victory before the giants sprung from their hiding places.

To Maka's credit, she had been fighting well, despite her previous exhaustion from chasing Yang Liu, but the exhaustion of fighting almost 20 of these tough Kishin at once was beginning to show. Little slip ups were made here and there, nothing major, but Soul still noticed, and it made him worry.

"Maka, we need to get out of here. As soon as you see an opening, take it. You're exhausted and could make a big mistake pretty soon."

"I know, I'm working on it." She panted heavily, blocking a blow and returning it with one of her own. "But they just keep coming, and I can't get enough time to power up for a bigger attack."

It was at this moment that a shadow crossed the moon. The giants looked up to see what it was, giving Maka the moment she needed to make a break for it, and she would have made it too, if not for a root that tripped her, which certainly hadn't been there before.

Maka cried out at the pain shooting through her ankle, she'd twisted it.

"Maka!" Soul shouted from inside the blade, worry apparent on his reflected face.

"I'm fine," The ashy-blonde meister said as she got back to her feet, not putting any weight on the offending ankle. Glancing at the shadow that held the giants transfixed, she tilted her head to the side in confusion. What was that?

Samuel looked down on the scene, and smirked. The ash-blonde girl had taken out the majority of the Giants herself, but as predicted, the trees had shifted and blocked any means of escape she had.

"I'm going down." The teen said. Even his voice had been changed into a slightly higher pitched and distinctly more feminine tone during the transformation.

Niato nickered in response as Samuel stood on her back… and jumped off.

Samuel dove towards the forest ground without even batting an eyelash and skillfully landed in a roll. He stood quickly, and just in time too. One of the giants swung their massive club at the cloaked weapon, who dodged by jumping backwards and flipping up onto the branch of a tree, just out of reach of the majority of the foes.

Maka took this as her cue, and letting out a determined yell, she swung at an unsuspecting Giant, cleaving him in half. The battle resumed, about half of the giants focused on each party. Reaching into the tan bag he had brought with him, he produced a scroll and a brush, and with a whispered word, he set the brush alight with a green glow.

With quick and furious strokes, he painted on the scroll, the light from the brush trailing on the parchment, forming a pack of seven or so wolves.

"Vivo," He whispered, and the glowing green wolves peeled themselves off the page, and jumped down to the ground, growing to the size of horses. They attacked the giants, clawing skin, biting throats, and occasionally when a giant landed a good hit, disappearing in a flash of green light.

The tables were turned dramatically until Maka, who despite her injured ankle was still fighting, was temporarily blinded by the flash of light that was one of the wolves vanishing. In this moment, the largest giant roared with glee and swung his giant sword at the meister.

Maka recovered just in time to partially block the blow, but still received a giant, messy gash to the side. The impact of the sword against Soul's handle sent the ashy-blonde meister flying, Soul going one way, Maka going another. Soul landed in a patch of briars, and Maka's head collided with a giant oak tree, knocking her out.

The giant roared in triumph, and moved forward to finish her off.

"Maka!" Soul shouted in terror, transforming back to his human form, then regretting it as he was stabbed and scratched by the thorns. pushing away the pain, he tore through the briars towards his meister, and threw himself between her and the oncoming sword. He closed his eyes and braced himself to feel the sword cutting him in half, but the blow never came.

The white haired weapon opened his eyes to see the cloaked figure blocking the giant's blade with a strange weapon. It was glowing green like the wolves, which were finishing off the other giants, and looked like a double bladed spear. The pole in between the two blades was about three feet long, and each spearhead was about a foot, making the length about 5 feet, a good 6 inches taller than the figure.

What was astonishing, however, was not the weapon. It was the wielder, who was currently matching the strength of the twenty five foot giant pound for pound, despite clear disadvantages in height and strength. The head of the cloaked figure turned, almost neon green eyes glowing under the hood. Though 'she' didn't speak, Soul got her message.

_Move._

Soul nodded, and picked up his unconscious meister and got out of the way. As soon as they were out of the line of attack, Samuel shifted his position slightly, and the giant fell past him onto the ground. The huge humanoid quickly stood, his gaze shifting from Samuel to Soul carrying his meister away from the fight. It made to follow, but was stopped by a sharp pain in his leg.

The giant turned to see the hooded teen pulling 'her' weapon out of its leg.

"No, Kyojin. Your fight is with me."

Soul's eyes widened at the sound of the voice. It was as if a thousand voices had ushered forth, ringing and echoing in the grove. Her voice -he was sure it was a her- rang with power; power that was not to be underestimated, and her eyes seemed to glow ice blue briefly.

The Kyojin giant grunted; a one on one fight between two powers was something it understood. It lifted the crude sword it used as a weapon above his head while the figure stood erect, clutching 'her' weapon at 'her' side and simply staring up at the giant, unmoving, as the sword fell…

**AN:** **Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger! What will happen? Find out next chapter!**

**Lol, Joking. I wanted to end it here but I decided to be nice. You're welcome.**

"Look out!" Soul shouted, but the advice was unnecessary. Samuel dodged just to the side, the sword lodging in the earth. He jumped atop the sword and ran along the edge up toward the giant, whose eyes widened in surprise. It jerked the sword upward, sending Samuel flying behind him. The dark haired teen rolled into a standing position, then spun and ran at the giant, who was still facing the other way.

Taking a flying leap, he flew through the air and landed on the giant's head. He spun the double sided spear around before stabbing it through the giant's skull. A sickening crack echoed around the forest as the blade dug deeper. The giant's roar of agony was cut short as it, like the others, dissolved into shadows, leaving the large red soul floating in the air.

There was silence.

Samuel landed gracefully on the ground, the sound his feet was almost silent, but still acted as the only sound in the forest. The other giants were dead, the wolves gone.

Soul stared in awe at the figure. To be able to kill with such ease…

There was a final flash as the weapon Samuel held disappeared, and he began to close the distance between himself and the only other sentient beings in the forest.

Soul's guard went up as he approached. "Who are you? What do you want?"

Niato landed behind the solo weapon as he replied to the scythe's demands.

"Peace." He said, his feminine voice no longer ringing as it did before. "The only ill will here is that which you bear. I mean only to help your friend."

The white haired weapon found his guard slipping at the sound of Samuel's honey sweet words and reasonable tone. He nodded, and the cloaked figure was at his side in an instant, the great winged horse following carefully behind. He took Maka from his arms and knelt with her on the ground, making a tsking sound at the sight of Maka's ragged wound.

The jagged blade hadn't just cut, but rather shredded her skin, and caused her to bleed profusely. She was pale from bloodloss, a good portion of the fluid currently staining Soul's jacket and Maka's clothes, and now Samuel's dress.

A whispered word and the figure's hand glowed the same green as the wolves and the weapon. Slowly, she passed her hand over the wound, leaving behind not even a scar. Soul watched in awe.

"Coming into this forest is not something you should make a habit of, demon scythe." The figure said while it healed Maka's grievous wound. "There are many dark spirits here that would be much harder to defeat then a Kyojin pack, and the sentient creatures are not the worst of the dangers."

"I-we, we were chasing a Kishin. Neither of us wanted to give up. We thought they were just rumours." Soul said.

The figure nodded, understanding. Finished healing the wound on her side, Samuel moved on to her ankle, which took only seconds. "She may be unconscious for a while yet, from blood loss and that wound on her head. I try to avoid working with the brain if at all possible." the dark haired healer said.

"May I see your arm?" She asked. Soul looked down and realized that the thorns had torn through his jacket and given him an especially nasty gash on the arm. He held out his arm and she passed her hand over it like she had done for Maka, but the glow had turned and Icy blue, along with her eyes.

"You have a rare and dangerous power, Soul Evans." She spoke again with a thousand voices.

"How do you know-" Soul started to say, but was cut off.

"I know many things." She said. "You are strong to bear such an evil and not let it consume you. It is a heavy burden to bear."

Soul stared as she traced a blue glowing finger down his shirt over his scar. It tingled, then he felt a strange feeling. He felt almost, lighter. He stared into her Icy blue eyes. "What did you-"

He was cut off once again, this time by a moan coming from his downed partner. "Maka?!"

He said, pulling her into her arms. She slowly blinked her jade green eyes open, staring into Soul's red orbs. "Soul?"

"Yeah?" He said softly. She answered quietly with a blank face. "Trees hurt."

The figure chuckled, eyes returned to green, the glow of her hand dissipating. "A few days

rest will see her on her feet again."

Her voice returned to normal, as she stood and walked over to Niato's side, pulling herself onto the Kaze-Raida's back. Samuel extended a finger toward the trees, which parted almost reluctantly to form a path to the back of the DWMA. "Take this path out, or else I cannot guarantee your safety."

"Wait!" Soul called out. "Who are you?"

'_Who indeed...'_ Maka thought. Even being in her weakened state, she activated her Soul Perception, and was shocked at what she saw. Both the figure and its' majestic steed didn't have a soul.

The figure's luminescent green eyes smiled. "A good Samaritan." she said, and Niato took off into the night, disappearing among the stars.

"She didn't have a soul." Maka gasped quietly.

"What?" Soul replied, confused.

"She didn't have a soul. Even witches when they have their soul protect on just seem to have a soul, but she didn't. She was... empty." Maka explained with a perturbed look on her face.

"Okay, I need to get you home. You may have hit your head a bit harder than I thought." Soul said as he picked her up bridal style.

"It's not a head injury Soul!" The green eyed meister said, weakly pounding a fist against his chest. "I'm telling you, It wasn't there! There was nothing! She didn't have a-"

"Maka." Soul interrupted, his even tone calming his partner. "Even I know that for something to be alive, it has to have a soul. Even ghosts have souls. What you're saying is impossible."

"That's what I saw." Maka muttered with a pout before relaxing into Soul's arm, leaning her head against his chest. Not that she would admit it, but she was still dizzy from blood loss, so she allow Soul carry her this time. Just this once.

Besides, she kind of enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her, the warmth of him, and the sound of his heart beating. It was relaxing, calming, and some other thing that she couldn't put her finger on.

'_I'll figure it out later…'_ She thought as she slowly fell asleep.

Soul smiled at the sleeping form of his meister. She looked so cute when she was sleeping…

He mentally slapped himself. '_Not cool man, not cool. She's your meister, nothing else. Nothing else...'_

But some part of him disagreed. This part also decided it was the perfect time to bring up all the happy times they'd had. How close they had become. How she only smiled that beautiful smile around him. How he was willing to do anything for her, something that went beyond what was expected of him as her weapon.

'_What if she was something else? What if you two became something, more? Would it really be, 'Not cool'?'_ That part of him whispered. Stealing another glance at her sleeping against his chest, he smiled a bit. She was everything to him, and feeling her sleeping against him, holding her in his arms... '_Maybe it would be kind of cool after all...'_

**There you go. Have some SoMa at the end there. What did you think? Was it okay?**

**First,** **Yang Liu is an actual person. He was a serial killer who used a shovel among other farm implements to kill his victims. The reason I chose him was because my dad dared me to have someone in my story killed with a shovel. It's some odd thing for NaNoWriMo, and I just decided, "Meh, what the heck." There's more info on Yang Liu at the link here, just take out the . **** /wiki/Yang_Xinhai**

**Second, I hope nobody got too confused with the whole He/She thing. If you did, I apologize.**

**I'm still looking for horses to add to the story. All you have to do is review, then see the outline on my page, fill it out, and PM it to me!**

**I'll also just take reviews for the heck of reviewing...**

**Ja ne!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dawn:** **Ohaiyo! I'm back! Happy Friday! Can you guys do me a favor? I have a poll set up regarding a Halloween Special for this chapter. Take a look and Vote?**

**Just wanna send a shout out to my good friend GlitterSpires for showing so much interest in this story, Prussia GC for reviewing, and a tremendous thank you to my Beta KiraLoveless for all she does for this fic. I really appreciate it you guys! 3**

**Bri:** ***hooks a rope to something on the ceiling***

***hooks the other end onto the harness I'm wearing***

***slowly descends from the ceiling while lights flash and smoke emerges***

***strikes a fabulous pose***

***attempts to unhook myself***

***gets tangled***

***falls three feet to the ground* What the...grrr...fluff...ouch...uugghh...well hello everyone. This entrance went a lot better in my head. Anyhow. You are all fabulous and I love everyone here because you read this punk's amazing story. Okee. That is all. *hooks myself to the rope again* *tugs on it twice* *a large purple monkey pulls me back up and I disappear into the ceiling***

**Dawn:** ***Blinks twice* I didn't think we had that in the budget… Wait a minute… BRI! *runs off then turns back to readers* You guys enjoy the chapter. I have a six-foot-fangirl to find. I'll see you at the end! Oh and I don't own Soul Eater, but I do own my ideas and OC's. *Runs off to find Bri***

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"_Talking in mind"_

_Flashback_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Samuel grumbled as he turned off his sixth alarm the next morning. He briefly recalled reading something about having multiple alarms or hitting the snooze button then going back to sleep actually making you more tired than just waking up. Samuel blinked at the thought before shrugging it off and sat up, stretching and yawning.

He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision and recall the strange dream he'd had that night. After a few minutes of only coming up with odd sequences like Niato asking if they could stop for doughnuts as they headed back home from somewhere, he shook his head and stood up, nearly tripping over a tan bag hiding underneath a black cloak that lay on the floor.

It was then that he realized, as he ran a hand through his hair tiredly, that it hadn't been a dream. The Kyojin, fighting the chief, healing Maka's wounds, and then blacking out for a moment before said meister woke up.

'_Why does that keep happening?'_ He wondered as he rummaged through his closet for a clean shirt and pants. It seemed that more and more often that he blacked out like that when he used magic.

'_It could be because of that technique…'_ He thought, as he pulled on a dark blue t-shirt. '_The reason that it's been pretty much banned is because of the strain it puts on one's soul. The only reason I can use it is because of the unusually quick rate I heal.'_

He shuffled out into the kitchen and mechanically poured himself a glass of juice as his mind continued… whatever it was doing. '_That being said, it doesn't matter how quickly I heal, taking pieces of something off and then putting it back together repeatedly... no matter how strong the soul... it will eventually begin to deteriorate.'_

He took a long sip of juice before he continued his train of thought. '_Maybe that's what's happening to me,'_

He hummed in thought. '_If that's the case, how long do I have till I can't put the pieces back together? How long till my soul falls apart?'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Samuel was not the only one with something on his mind that Saturday morning. Professor Franken Stein walked through the halls of the DWMA, pondering about the events of last night. It was strange enough to see Soul at the school when he wasn't required to be there, but the story they had told…

_Flashback_

_He had stayed late to grade the papers that had been the written part of the class's most recent major exam; the physical part had been left till after the weekend. He looked up when he heard hurried footsteps enter his classroom. It was Marie. She had rushed into his classroom a look on her face that was a cross between shock, fear, and disbelief._

"_Franken! It's Soul and Maka! They just came back from their mission, and they're covered in blood, and-"_

_Stein was on his feet and out the door before she could finish. _

"_Where are they?" He demanded, taking a serious tone._

"_They're in the infirmary. Maka's unconscious and Soul's going on about some weird specter or something… it's like he's gone insane!" She quickened her pace to catch up behind him, and nearly ran into him when he stopped and spun around to face her. _

"_Marie. Listen closely. Do you know where they were?" He asked in a voice that said he knew the answer, he was just worried it was true. The blonde weapon took a deep breath before answering. "I think Soul said something about the forest…"_

_His suspicions confirmed, Stein continued his path to the infirmary._

'_Dang, this isn't good.' He thought. 'Not many students come out of there in one piece, if they return at all. What was Maka doing in there? It's not surprising that Soul would go carelessly, but she should know better than to go there.'_

"_What was the last mission they took?" He asked Marie._

"_I believe it was the Yang Liu mission." She replied. "Lord Death actually asked them personally to take it. Yang Liu had been proving too clever for most of the other pairs. Strange," She continued, "It's not normal for a Kishin to actually think like he did…"_

'_And then he led them into the forest where something happened that injured Maka and sent Soul off his rocker.' He thought. "Contact Lord Death. This could be very serious."_

_He entered the Infirmary to find Maka lying unconscious on the bed, the blood from her clothes soiling the clean white sheets. Soul sat in a chair next to her, worry etched onto his face as he stared at his meister. Maka was deathly pale- from the blood loss he presumed, and her clothes were torn and tattered._

"_Do you know what injuries she has?" He asked Soul as he rushed in. Soul shook his head with a frustrated frown marring his face._

"_All I know of is that she took a nasty knock to the head. Everything else that girl healed." The white haired weapon said._

"_What do you mean, that girl? Who was she?" The professor asked._

"_I don't know. She kept her hood up, I couldn't see her face. She had green eyes though, like, neon green. But then they turned blue," He replied, his brow scrunched in confusion. "And then she- well I'm not sure what she did, but when her eyes were green, she healed Maka with some weird green light, but said that she didn't heal her head because she didn't like messing with people's heads or something like that. Then her eyes turned blue, she said some weird stuff, then they turned green again, and she flew away."_

"_Flew away?" Stein said, voice dripping with disbelief._

_Soul nodded. "Yeah, on this giant black horse with wings. Then after she left, Maka said something weird. Something about how she didn't have a soul, but that's not possible. Right?"_

_All the while Soul had been talking; Stein had been checking the unconscious meister over for injuries. And strangely, what the scythe said was true. Despite all the blood, she wasn't bleeding, except for a few minor scratches. Checking her head, he did feel a good sized lump, and decided he would have to test her for a concussion when she woke up. Maybe there was some truth to Soul's Story…_

_At that moment, the mirror in the Infirmary glowed for a moment before Lord Death appeared. "Hiya Stein! Wazzap?"_

_The Patchwork Professor turned to Soul, then back to Lord Death. "I think you need to hear this," He said, turning to Soul once again. "Starting from the beginning."_

_End Flashback_

'_Kishin the size of houses, Horses with wings, soulless beings with magical powers, moving trees, it all sounds like something out of a fairy tale. Yet, a good portion of Soul's story fits with the little evidence we have.'_ The professor thought as he walked through the doors of the library.

He spent a good portion of the rest of the day searching the library for something, anything that would prove or disprove the truth of Soul's story. After searching for hours and coming up completely blank, he began to wonder if perhaps someone had removed anything related to the matter from the library…

He shook his head. That was impossible. The only person who had the authority to have something removed from the library like that was Lord Death, and there was no way he could have removed all those books from the library that fast. Not to mention he didn't have a reason to, did he?

_Flashback_

"_That's quite the story Soul. Are you sure that's what happened?" Lord Death chirped._

_Soul nodded. "Positive."_

_Stein cleared his throat. "Lord Death, do you know anything about this?"_

"_Hmmmm," Lord Death seemed to ponder on the matter for a while. "Nope! Not a clue!" He said joyfully. "Alright, off to bed with all of you! Night night!"_

_End Flashback_

After that, the mirror had gone dark.

'_He seemed eager to end the conversation.'_ Stein thought. '_He probably did know something on the subject, but obviously he wasn't telling. So since he's removed all the books on the subject, how am I supposed to figure anything out?'_

"Dang it, how am I supposed to find anything on this anyway! It's like chasing a fairy tale!" The professor almost shouted in frustration.

A head popped out from around a bookshelf and gave Stein an odd look. "Uh, Professor? Is everything okay?"

"Fine. It's fine." He said in a tone that showed that it was the opposite of fine.

"You sure about that Professor? You've been here almost four hours and you've never held on to one book for more than a few minutes." The girl said as she stepped out from behind the shelf. She had dark skin and long black hair pulled up into a ponytail and held in place by a thick white headband. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her black jacket which meshed perfectly with her black pants.

"How did you know?" Stein asked.

The girl shrugged. "I've been here longer, and you've been all but running all over the nonfiction section. Something must be really bugging you."

The Patchwork Professor ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. I'm looking for any mention of Giants, Moving trees, Horses with wings, Soulless beings who can use magic…"

He trailed off when he caught sight of the girl giving him a how-stupid-are-you look. He was impressed. Not many people would give him that look, let alone be able to make him feel intimidated in the least like she was.

"I think I know what your problem is." She said very slowly. "You're looking in the wrong section, professor."

Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Quite obviously you're looking for a book in the fiction section. And luck for you, I know exactly which book. I read it last week." She said as she turned and headed for the fiction section.

Stein sighed and followed after her. He lost her for a moment, but found her again as she scaled one of the ladders that allowed reach to higher shelves. She ran a finger down the spines of the books, searching with practiced eyes for the book she had mentioned.

"Here it is." She said as she descended the ladder, book in hand. She held it out to the professor, who raised an eyebrow at the title.

"The Book of Modern Myths?" He asked skeptically. The girl folded her arms and borderline glared daggers at him. "Look. You have your specialty," She pointed to where the books on dissection were located, "... and I have mine."

She gestured with wide arms to the entire fiction side of the Library. "I know every book in here, and I've read them cover to cover. That's the book you're looking for."

"I appreciate your help, but I'm looking for facts, not Legends or Myths." Stein said.

A sigh from the anonymous girl. "All legends get their roots somewhere. You probably didn't know what you were really looking for."

She girl turned and headed for another shelf, ponytail swinging behind her before she stopped and said, "Chapter seven, page eighty-three. I think you'll find your moving trees and things there."

"Wait!" The professor called out. "What's your name?"

The girl turned and smirked. "Joy. Joy Lacey. Learn the name now so you won't have to when I move up to the EAT class next year."

And with that promise, she disappeared among the shelves.

Stein looked at the book with skepticism, before realizing that everything Joy had said was true. '_Chapter seven, huh?'_ He opened the book to the aforementioned page and begin to read what was titled as,

_**The Legend Of The White Rose**_

_Long ago, before the age of Death Scythes, Meisters, and Weapons; Witches had ruled the world. They were like the humans of today; mostly good people, but there were a few rotten apples here and there. _

_The greatest of their race was a queen in the form of a child. She went by the name of Selena, a young girl who was gifted with great power. It was within her power to do many great and marvelous things, but the most legendary skill she possessed was the ability to manipulate others through music. _

_She always carried with her an enchanted flute, which shone so brightly it was rumored she had fashioned it from the dust of stars. Less commonly known of was her ability to create life. It was said that her palace was covered in tapestries and paintings she had created herself, and that she could bring such items to life to defend her home and all those who dwelled in it. _

_She was a kind and generous ruler, wise far beyond her years._

_Constantly at her side was her childhood friend Joseph, who was also learned in the magical arts. He was gifted with the ability to take any form he pleased, and in such a manner that none would know that it was he. Even his soul changed forms with his skin, such was his power. He served as Queen Selena's eyes and ears around the world, bringing her news of the going ons of her people._

_But as the ages grew, along with the Queen and her good friend, Madness and Insanity began to leak into the world. As the Human race grew, they began to become jealous of the Witches' power. This Jealousy is what gave birth to the first, all powerful Insanity. More powerful than anything the world would ever see. _

_It took an especially great toll on the percentage of the world that was gifted with magic. Even more devastating, it took hold of the Queen. She was able to fight it off for longer than most because of her power, but she knew her time was not long._

_Joseph, however, was unburdened by this insanity because of his pure soul, which avoided the influence of the madness because of its ever changing nature. He watched with a troubled heart as a few of the Witches of the world slowly began to succumb to the madness, and do terrible things to the world around them._

_Years passed, and Joseph and Selena were soon married. It was a wonderful time, even the madness abated for a while, such was the joy of the people for their queen, and their new king who now ruled beside her. But this joy was not to last._

_The Witches of the world were now falling like leaves in autumn, submitting to the madness; even Queen Selena began to show signs of being afflicted by the epidemic._

_Joseph knew he must act quickly, and formulated a plan. He told Selena what he planned to do, and she agreed on the condition that if she succumbed to the madness, he would end her life. He reluctantly agreed, and Queen Selena called all the madness ridden witches to a forest in a place that would later be known as Death City, Nevada. _

_She summoned them, and because she was their queen, they answered. When they arrived she told them that she wished to join them in their insanity, and annihilate the humans who had brought this curse upon them. To rule the world. The witches were not deceived however, and demanded she prove to them that she intended to join them._

_So Queen Selena lowered the carefully placed barriers around her soul, and was swallowed up by the madness. At this the Witches rejoiced, for their queen's perfect soul was now tainted and soiled by their darkness. But in their glee, Joseph slew them all._

_When they were gone, Queen Selena tried to return from the depths of insanity, but she had fallen too deep, and the darkness would not so easily relinquish its long sought after prize. _

_She reminded Joseph of his oath, but he would not kill his love._

_Furious with him for ruining the world's only hope of purging the madness forever, she ripped her own soul out of her chest and destroyed it, smashing it into the ground. Joseph was horrified that his weakness had caused his wife so much pain, and fled to a distant Island. He never truly loved again, and never forgave himself. He spent the rest of his life doing what he could to keep the madness at bay, before he grew old, and passed on his task to The Grim Reaper. _

_Returning to the Island, He taught his descendants how to use his magic, but none were as great as he. Upon his death bed, he vowed that one day he would be reunited with his love, and he would do all he could to right the wrongs he had committed. It was at this time that he issued what has come to be known as The Lost Prophecy, Which states:_

_The Two bodies of one soul,_

_Despairingly separated into halves,_

_Shall once again come together_

_And unveil the truth buried within lies._

_To make low of the evil_

_And bring balance forever._

_Never again will their souls dissever._

_His descendants closely guarded the prophecy and hoped that one day the two that were one would return and destroy the madness. They even went as far as to label themselves at the Shitsuren, meaning lost love, to remind themselves of the mistakes of their ancestor, and to never repeat them._

_And what of Queen Selena?_

_The forest where she killed herself became home to many foul creatures in which came to be known as Kishin, who grew to unnatural sizes due to the residual magic in the air. _

_Queen Selena's soul, crushed into the ground, gave birth to the first white rose, which would open a gateway to a world free of madness and insanity. And the souls of the witches, repentant in death, were absorbed into the forest. _

_They became the silent protectors of the forest, confusing travelers and keeping them away from the white rose, the gateway. The gateway to a place where all lived in harmony, and not a human existed, because it was the humans with their greed that created the Insanity in the first place. _

_Elves, Fairies, Merfolk, Dwarves, and all manners of fair folk lived there. They had no ruler, but looked to the Kaze-Raida, winged horses to guide them._

_There were two, their names unknown, who led them all. One who was white as new fallen snow, peppered with gold. The other who was as black as night, and seemed to carry the stars in her coat. It is said that they stand watch over the gateway, and will allow entry to their realm to any descendant of the creator of their world, and protect them from harm until the time of the prophecy is at hand._

_And so both sides await the two that will eventually destroy the darkness and banish the madness forever._

The rest of the weekend found Professor Franken Stein at home, studying the book like his life depended on it. He had found an ancient drawing of Selena and Joseph on one of the pages, and noticed that Selena looked exactly like how soul had described the Soulless specter in the forest. '_The legend said that she had ripped out her soul, and crushed it into the ground. That would explain why Maka didn't see anything…'_

Monday morning dawned, and Stein was reading the book over again for the fifteenth time, trying to glean more information from the book. The students filed into the class, casting sidelong glances at their teacher as he stared intently at the book.

When the bell rang the Professor didn't even look up from his book as he gave the instructions for the day. "Turn to page 394 in your textbooks and do problems 1-35 and hand it in by the end of the day along with an essay on the previous chapter."

The students all groaned as pulled out their books and turned to the page.

"This _so_ isn't cool." Soul grumbled as he took out a paper and pencil. "He _never_ gives us book work!"

"Even when he's actually teaching, you don't pay attention." Maka said from his right. By of sheer determination (and lack of a serious head injury.) the green eyed meister had gotten out of the infirmary in time for classes. "But you're right, he never gives us book work."

"Maybe it has something to do with the book he's reading." Kid supplied from his place down the left of the row, in the exact center of the classroom. "He seems to be absorbed by it."

"You're right… Did you see the title?" Maka asked.

Kid squinted, but shook his head.

"Sorry, no." The reaper replied.

"It's The Book Of Modern Myths." Came a voice from Maka's right. It was BlackStar, sitting next to Tsubaki who was between the ash blonde Meister and blue haired assassin. "I saw it when I came in."

"A book of myths? That doesn't sound like something the professor would read…" Maka pondered.

"Hey sis, do you think there are myths about giraffes?" Patty asked from her place on Kid's right.

Liz, who was between Patty and Soul, sighed as she filed her nails. "I'm sure there are." She said in monotone.

"You think it has something to do with what happened Friday?" Soul asked his meister.

Maka shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe. That's the only reason I can think of that he would be reading that."

"Something happened Friday night? You guys were on a mission, right?" Tsubaki asked. Suddenly the pair was the center of attention in their little group.

"Well, uh…" Maka stuttered, but whatever she was about to say was cut off as Stein threw as scalpel at them and it impaled itself in the seats behind them.

"Quiet back there." He said, not even looking up from his book. They were silenced, until BlackStar passed a note down to Maka.

_Meet us in the park after school, okay? ~B*_

Maka glanced around before scribbling down a reply and showing it to Soul, then passing it back down the row.

_Fine. 4 o'clock, alright? ~M_

BlackStar showed the note to Tsubaki and wrote something else before passing it back.

_Great! Pass it down to Kid and the others too, 'Kay? ~B*_

Maka nodded and passed the note down to the others. Kid wrote something, Patty drew a giraffe on it, and Liz just passed it back.

_No! Unacceptable! We will meet at 8 o'clock! ~K_

_Kid, It's a school night. I'm not staying out till 8. ~M_

_We could meet at 7… ~ B*_

_BlackStar… Please don't tease Kid like that! ~T_

_Nice going genius. ~M_

_Not cool man. ~S_

Needless to say Kid nearly had a fit. After he managed to calm himself down, the Reaper wrote down a reply.

_Fine. 4 o'clock. BlackStar, If you're late… ~K_

_BRING IT ON! I WILL SURPASS GOD! ~B*_

Insert group face palm here.

In another school room, someone was still recovering from the events of Friday night in terms of sleep. He sat with his head on the desk, snoozing away. Little did he know that his intervention that Friday night in the forest would soon have a major affect on his life, and sleeping schedule.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Dawn:** **Finished! Sorry it's so late, I've been trying to balance my life between grades and this fic.**

***muffled shouting noises from a closet***

***tries to hide closet.* Oh a wow wind sure makes odd sounds sometimes right?**

***More muffled shouting***

**Nope no one in there no idea what you're talking about.**

***the closet begins to shake back and forth as shouting increases.***

***Sighs and opens closet, and a tied up Bri falls out.***

**Bri:** ***glares and attempts to untie my hands***

***wiggles feet vigorously.***

**Dawn:** **I wouldn't bother. That's grade A fangirl rope, built for kidnapping various anime characters with high strength and skill levels. Now tell the truth! How the heck did you fit that in the budget?**

**Bri:** ***grins* Very carefully.**

**Dawn:** **Fine. If you won't talk, I'll just have to come up with some punishment for you… *Grins evilly***

**Bri:** **Punishment? *glares suspiciously***

**Dawn:** **Yes… Some time in the SteinXMarie room should loosen your tongue! *Evil laugh, lightning flashes, and thunder booms***

**Bri:** ***Screams* NO! PLEASE! OKAY! I TAPPED INTO THIS MONTH'S FOOD BUDGET!**

**Dawn:** **You… You did what, again?**

**Bri:** **I tapped into this month's food budget…**

**Dawn:** **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY NUTELLA! *Sinks to the floor in a sobbing heap***

**Bri:** ***Rolls eyes* Okay, well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter; she worked very hard on it. Anyways, I have a mess to clean up. *glares at the crying human* à bientôt!**


End file.
